Saturday, November 12, 2011

Check it out and get excited! Looks like they're keeping the menu niiiiceeeee and simple at Bigwheel. $13.50 for burger, fries and shake? Not bad. Not as good as the $12 they originally intended that combo to be, but not bad.

ps. Thanks to @VictorianFood on Twitter for originally posting this photo.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

"Would you like that on a bun, or in a lettuce wrap?" Lettuce wrap? I hope this is just a question Bin 4 asks to weed out the losers. I hope everyone who answers "lettuce wrap" gets ridiculed until they are forced to leave through the back door. I know the EVIL LIFESTYLE SECTIONS of our national newspapers are trying to delude us into believing bread makes us fat and macarons are better than cupcakes, but burgers in lettuce wraps? THAT'S A BRIDGE TOO FAR MY FRIENDS!

Thankfully the last two buns in the kitchen had been saved for us. Apparently there are perks to being noticed as a burger blogger.

I won't offer a full review of Bin 4, as they've only been open a day, but I will say I enjoyed myself. "The Heritage"—topped with the traditional burger fix-ins, as well as a bacon aioli and some bold, 5-year aged cheddar—was actually grilled properly (check out that pink in the middle!) and definitely did not offend my palate. No real qualms with the brioche bun from Portofino either. The other burgers on the menu didn't look too overboard (bruschetta, avocado and back bacon is about as wild as it gets), and the elk burger special certainly looked interesting.

A month or two ago the TC popped a few questions to me about the recent burger joint boon in Victoria. They were curious as to whether or not I thought they'd all be successful, or if our burger market was about to become over-saturated. I have no doubt in my mind that Bin 4, Big Wheel, and Pink Bike will all have no trouble staying busy. They don't even have to be good. All these burger joints could be woefully mediocre, and they'd still be packed out. The options for truly superior dinner-hour burgers in this town are severely limited. It's nice to see new restaurateurs trying to remedy this.

VERDICT: I'll be back to check on Bin 4's progress. Assuming they maintain even the slightest level of consistency, they'll be just fine.

ps. Don't let the Earl's meets "hip cocktail lounge" vibe confuse you. Yes the waitresses are stereotypically good looking, and yes there might be guys next to you at the bar getting obliterated on tequila and muff divers, but Bin 4 does actually appear to care about burgers.

pps. Burgers at Bin 4 are 50% off every night after 9:00pm (you've gotta buy a drink too though).

Victoria's newest burger joint is live! They had a soft open last night, and the grand opening is tonight. Looks like they'll be open with regular hours starting Sunday. Still no menu/photos of burgers online.